Soviet Armed Forces
(I Serve the Soviet Union) DVD

An awesome visual account of Operation Dnieper, the 1967 Soviet military exercise which, involving more than half a million troops, stands as the largest such maneuver in world history. Pitting western against eastern forces in a blistering battle over Soviet territory, the maneuver showcased Soviet tank, air and missile capabilities; in Cold War terms, Operation Dnieper was the extravagent Soviet answer to NATO flexible response doctrine, significantly raising the stakes in any future European showdown. Soviet cameras recorded the event as a demonstration of socialist prowess; the version here was adapted by the U.S Department of Defense for internal purposes. The American voice-over offers a comparative evaluation of U.S.-Soviet military capabilities; the remarkable footage--one underwater segment shows tanks equipped with snorkels advancing across the Dnieper river bed--documents Soviet military power at its zenith.